On May 9th in the Sistine Chapel, at the foot of Michelangelo's frescoes and before the assembled cardinals, the new Pope Leo XIV celebrated his very first Mass as Bishop of Rome. A celebration marked by the simplicity of a man profoundly aware of the weight of the mission entrusted to him, yet animated by a lively faith and a firm will to proclaim the Gospel without compromise.
From this first Mass, he was determined to lay the spiritual foundations of his pontificate: a return to Christ, courage in witness, and fidelity to the faith received.
In the beginning of a homily delivered in English, he addressed the cardinals directly:
“My brother cardinals, as we celebrate this morning, I invite you to recognize the wonders the Lord has accomplished, the blessings He continues to pour out upon us through the ministry of Peter.”
He then spoke of the cross he accepts to bear, expressing his confidence that he would rely on the support of each one in this mission, not as a solitary leader, but as a brother in the midst of a community of disciples.
Switching then to Italian, the Holy Father lingered on that daunting question posed by Our Lord to Peter in the Gospel:
“But who do you say that I am?”
A question that remains at the heart of Christian existence.
With lucidity and courage, he emphasized that the modern world often rejects Christ not because of His message of love, but due to the moral and truth demands it implies.
“Even today,” he said, “in many places, the Christian faith is ridiculed, considered absurd, a matter for the weak or naive. Other securities are preferred: technology, money, power, pleasure, or success.”
But it is precisely in these places of darkness, he insisted, that the Gospel must be proclaimed with the greatest vigor. For where faith fades, life itself loses its meaning: human dignity is trampled, the family collapses, mercy is forgotten, and man, deprived of bearings, wanders aimlessly.
“It is to this wounded world that we are sent,” the Pope reminded. And our mission begins, according to him, with personal conversion, a fidelity lived daily in a living relationship with the Lord. “We must first be witnesses, not functionaries,” he affirmed, “friends of Christ, united in faith, proclaiming together the good news of salvation.”
He then turned to his own role, with great humility:
“I say this first for myself, as the successor of Peter, called to preside in charity over the universal Church, according to the expression dear to Saint Ignatius of Antioch.”
The same Ignatius he quoted at length:
“I shall truly be a disciple of Christ when the world no longer sees my body.”
A powerful statement, evoking total sacrifice—that of blood for Ignatius, that of the complete gift of self for every shepherd. For the role of the one who leads the Church is not to put himself forward, but to step back so that Christ may appear.
“To make room for Jesus, to make oneself small so that He may be glorified, to spend oneself totally so that all may know and love Him,” summarized the Pope. Then, in a final, moving prayer, he entrusted his pontificate to the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.
The liturgy, sober and prayerful, was celebrated in Latin, according to tradition. The readings were proclaimed in English and Spanish, as a sign of universality. And it was with the singing of the Regina Caeli, taken up in unison with the Sistine Chapel Choir, that this inaugural Mass concluded in Paschal peace.
The Holy See specified that the solemn installation of Pope Leo XIV will take place on May 18th, followed by his first general audience on May 21st. He will also give his first Regina Caeli blessing from St. Peter's Square this Sunday at noon.